


Safe

by Serenitydusk



Series: Tales of Annwn [1]
Category: markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Complete, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 09:52:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15458742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenitydusk/pseuds/Serenitydusk
Summary: Based on rp with a friend and this quote: "I could keep you safe. They’re all afraid of me."Dusk is hunted by her enemies and ends up trapped in Dark's void dimension.





	Safe

Dusk had stayed too long, lulled into thinking perhaps she had managed to finally lose them. She had been lulled by this world and its quiet, unspoiled beauty. She had been lulled by the kindness of the people there, who had welcomed her without reservation, though she was a stranger.

She had been foolish to stay. And some of these people and some of the beauty of this world paid the price for her mistake. It was not her blade that cut. It was not her fire set to destroy. But the sin would still stain her soul, darkening it further, tipping the balance she strove to keep.

Opening a portal, she fled. She was not afraid to stand and fight, but she knew when she left, they would follow. To linger and fight would only bring more suffering to the innocent. She held a picture of home in her mind, seeing every detail as though she stood there, smelling the flowers that bloomed in her garden, feeling the cool air of her forest home, hearing the wind sing through the trees, tasting the sharp, bittersweet tang of the herbs that hung drying in her workroom. With those firmly locked in her mind, stepped into the portal, grabbed the winds and rode.

And fell.

Dusk felt the moment her power gave out and she could no longer ride the winds that carried her in the In Between. They slipped through her grasping, panicking fingers as she plunged into darkness. She tried to at least guide where she would land as she ripped through the In Between, but it was like sailing in a hurricane. Her breath was knocked out of her when she did finally land, skidding across the ground until she came to a stop beneath a bent and gnarled tree. Lying there panting, she finally was able to scoot over to it, using it to pull herself up to a seated position and lean her back against it. Every breath was agony and her head throbbed. She didn’t know how long she rested against the tree, eyes closed, trying to breathe through the pain, but she knew she had to find someplace safe and soon. Looking down at her body, she saw mostly cuts and bruises, some bad, but none debilitating. No broken bones, but her ribs had taken a beating when she fell. Her powers, however, were weakened. She could still feel a faint spark, trying to heal the worst injuries. Eventually, with time and rest, they would be restored, but right now, she couldn’t even open a portal, let alone ride the winds. She was trapped.

Staggering to her feet, she looked around. She knew this place. Of all the places she could have ended up, why here? Here in the very den of a predator. While he always seemed cordial and even at times almost friendly, she didn’t know yet how much of that was real and how much of that was a polished façade carefully crafted to make his prey unwary. No matter. She couldn’t change anything. At best perhaps she could find a place to hide and heal. Normally Dark didn’t seem to notice she was here unless she called for him. Perhaps she could heal and be gone before he found her in her weakened condition.

Turning a slow circle, she tried to decide which way to go. The landscape was shrouded in a thick fog, obscuring landmarks, while the sky was dimly lit by a sliver of silver. She had no landmark to guide her, and no place to go if she did.  She closed her eyes in a moment of despair. Letting it wash over her, she grimly set one foot in front of the other and began to walk.

 

* * *

 

Dark was sitting in his study reading when he felt Dusk cross over. He frowned, normally her arrivals were quiet affairs, but this felt wild and violent. Waiting for her call for him, his frown deepened when there was nothing but silence. He knew that she sometimes came and spent time exploring before asking to visit with him. He indulged her curiosity because he found it…quaint and somewhat endearing. But always after her little forays, she would announce her presence. This wasn’t like her, at all. Snapping the book shut, he rose, leaving his manor and heading out into the bleak night to find her and find out what was going on.

As he walked, homing in on her, he felt the others rip through the barriers in between the worlds and enter his territory. Five of them, empty shells full of ravening hunger and malice. Revenants. Disgusting creatures. Created using unholy means, they possessed a degree of intelligence, but their will was bound to another. Dusk was one of the rare few he allowed to come into his demesne with no repercussion. These beasts, however, were not welcome here, and he didn’t take their intrusion lightly.

He found where she had arrived, her scent and blood still marking the land in a shallow trench leading to the base of a tree. Following her path, he felt her presence as he drew closer. Her normally calm demeanor was riddled with pain and he tasted her despair, bitter and hot. His jaw clenched, no small part in anger, but also as the delicious taste of her pain and despair rolled over him. Shuddering as images broke and distorted around him, he cracked his neck and reined them in until they are just a jittering blue and red outline, barely visible from his form. As a rule, he didn’t indulge in the suffering of those considered… He paused in his thoughts. Had Dusk managed to worm her way into a friendship? Grimacing, that was something to ponder another time. Regardless, he had grown accustomed to their conversations. For now, he preferred her mind and spirit intact.

Quickening his pace, he soon heard fighting. Down in a sloped valley, Dusk was surrounded by four of them. A fifth already lay at her feet dead. She was struggling to keep the four from flanking her, but it was a losing battle. He could tell by her movements and the scent of her blood she was injured. But still, to watch her fight was a thing of beauty. It seemed almost like a dance when she moved, bringing her sword up at the last moment to strike, cutting the arm off a revenant right below the elbow. Precise and elegant.

Dark moved to intercept one of the revenants flanking Dusk. It was so intent on her, it didn’t see the shadowy tendrils until they had wrapped around it, tearing it apart with brutal efficiency. It dropped to the ground, in pieces, as the shadows drifted back to Dark, pooling on the ground around him. Dusk had finished off the revenant, who was now headless in addition to missing their lower arm. She circled the two remaining, barely acknowledging Dark with a glance. Her movements were becoming slower and jerky, and she was favoring her left side which was shiny with blood.

Dark leapt without warning, bearing down on the revenant on the right, while Dusk waited for the one on the left to come to her, buying a little time to catch her breath. Dark whirled his black cane in a blur, the silver grip arcing through the air with a whistle until it connected with the revenant’s skull, crippling it. It twitched and shuddered on the ground until Dark brought his cane down a final time.

The last revenant barreled after Dusk with a roar and she couldn’t turn fast enough to avoid the full weight of its blow. Staggering to her knees, she fought to stand back up. The revenant grinned, its poison green eyes full of gleeful hate. It stalked her, taunting as she pulled herself up. She brought her sword up. If she was to die, it would be fighting and she damn sure wasn’t letting them take her alive.

Shadows speared through Its chest, flinging gore and ichor everywhere. The surprise on its face would have been amusing if Dusk hadn’t been fighting to remain standing. Revenants were relentless, but not very bright. Ignoring Dark has been their undoing. The shadows recoiled, slithering back to Dark and vanishing.

“You’re hurt.” It was not a question. His voice, silken and low, more than a hint of mocking. He cleaned off his cane, polishing away the blood and bits left behind. It was hard to watch her, vulnerable and hurt. It called to him, to his darker instincts. It would be so easy to give in and feast on her pain. He could break her. Break her mind, crush her spirit, watch her crumble. Rip open her psyche and see what all was inside and what it took to make it snap. The thought slithered through his mind and he dismissed it. He had somehow grown partial to her. For now, anyway. He huffed at himself in annoyance at the inconvenience of it. He watched her, head tilted as though waiting to see what she would do. Would she attack or flee? She hadn’t lowered her sword yet, though it was not raised to attack either.

She didn’t answer him, as she panted. Her injuries were obvious. She looked him in the eyes and wondered if it was her own death she saw mirrored in them. Her sword fell from her numb fingers and she swayed on her feet. Dammit. The last thing she saw was the cold smirk on his face before he lunged, and darkness closed in.

He, of course, had caught her, his shadows slowing her fall, holding her until he reached her. Scooping her up, he was surprised at just how small she was. She whimpered, even though unconscious. He wasn’t one to comfort, but still, he adjusted her carefully against him, not to further exacerbate her injuries.

* * *

 

She awoke with a start, disoriented. Bolting upright, she looked around the unfamiliar room, her too wide, too wild eyes landing on Dark. He was sitting back, looking out a window, when he heard her indrawn breath. Turning towards her, he waited, still and unmoving. Speaking soft and low, “Are you alright, dear?”

Her breath came out in pants, as her fingers clutched the sheets. Her voice sounded gritty and raw, as though she had been screaming. Perhaps she had been before he arrived. “I have to go before they find me.” She looked around the room, eyeing the door and considering her options.

“They won’t find you. I’ve made an example out of the last creatures they sent. They won’t be back.” He looked away and out the window, “But if they do, I can make my message louder if need be.” There was something about the way he said the words, devoid of anything remotely benevolent, that sent ice sliding down her spine.

Before she could comment, a man burst into the room, bringing with him the smell of sugared treats and gunpowder. All in pastels, pink and yellow, he spoke in a voice of honeyed cream, as though chewing around fluffy taffy, “There you are, Dark. I have been looking all over for you.”

“I’ve been attending to my guest, Wil.” Dark inclined his head towards Dusk, the faintest smile ghosting over his lips, as he looked up at the newcomer. Wilford turns and seeing her exclaims, “Why look at her! She’s just a little bit of fluff.” His face scrunches, “Do you intend on keeping her?”

“Keep me?” her voice grew low and cold. Fissions of heat shimmer formed around her body, the faintest lavender.

“She’s not a pet, Wilford,” Dark smirked as Dusk’s eyes narrow. He’d noticed the strange shimmer radiating off her. This is new, he thought.

“She looks rather pale.” Wilford pulled up a chair right beside Dark. Concern and something much darker went through Wilford’s eyes as he turned them towards the woman, “Do you think she’s going to make it? Might be best to put her out of her misery.” His hand flexed, fingers curling, as though holding a gun.

A low rumble grew, as Dusk growled, the sound much bigger and deeper than it should have been from someone her size. Her lips curled back baring curved fangs. The shimmer around her darkened to amethyst, and her eyes lit in violet smoke and flame.

Wilford gasped in amazement, “Why, Dark, she’s positively feral!”

“It would appear the little one has fangs.” Dark kept his satisfied smirk to himself. He enjoyed watching her reserved demeanor bend and crack, so he could see what lurked inside. “Why don’t you go get her something to eat. She’s been unconscious for three days. She’s sure to be hungry.”

Wil gave Dark a little pout, “I know what you’re doing, but I’ll go get our pet a little something.”

It was all Dusk could do not to hiss and snap at him as he left. Her eyes never left Wilford. It was not until the door closed, did she look back at Dark. She wondered what these men were to each other. The way Dark relaxed around Wil would suggest a deep level of trust.

He watched as she slowly pulled herself back together, fangs hidden, growl fading, eyes their normal, non-glowing shade of violet. Her aura still flared and shimmered, though it was pulled much closer to her body now.

“Three days?” She rasped.

Dark shrugged, “Tomorrow will be four.”

“I have to leave. I can’t stay here.” She tried to swing her feet over the edge of the bed, only to be pushed back by Dark.

“Don’t be ridiculous. The moment you leave here, they will swarm you.” He barely had to exert any effort to keep her pushed back against the pillows. He leaned down, his face close to hers, the smell of vetiver and citrus filling her senses, “I didn’t drag you here, so you could end up someone else’s prey.”

Fire lit in her eyes again, pushing back the fear with anger. “I am no one’s prey.”

He smirked, her response exactly what he wanted. And just in time, Wilford returned with a tray of food, “Here we go. Little bits of everything for our fluff.”

Dark rolled his eyes and took the tray from Wilford, placing it on Dusk’s lap. “Do take care around her, Wil.”

Wilford cocked his head to the side, “Do you think she bites?”

Dark smiled slyly as Dusk’s aura flared and sparked, but she remained silent, though glaring at Wilford. “Wil, why don’t give me a moment to get her settled in and I’ll join you downstairs.”

Wilford sighed dramatically, “Fine, fine. But if she bites you, I don’t want to hear a peep about it.” He huffed out the door, and she could hear him talking and muttering as he left.

When his voice finally faded, Dark turned back to her. “Why do they hunt you?”

She looked down, her food suddenly needing to be examined intensely. “It’s hard to explain.”

He leaned against the wall, and shrugged, “Stay.” He didn’t push, sensing she was too brittle right now. Brute force had its uses, but so did surgical precision, keeping her carefully off balance.

“What? What do you mean ‘stay’?” She looked up at him, genuinely confused.

He laughed humorlessly and pushed away from the wall, returning to his seat, “Stay here.”

“I can’t hide here forever.”

Looking back at the window, he answered, “No, not forever.” His images glitched wildly, one of them turning to look at her, screaming at her in rage, reaching towards her. “But for a time, you would be safe. They can’t hurt you here.” Seeing her reflection in the window, he smiled mercilessly, “You’re not afraid of me, are you dear?”

“Only a fool wouldn’t be.”

 


End file.
